Approval Voting CampaignNotes from the President of "Citizens for Approval Voting"The Campaign Begins!- (Found July 2, 2008 ) The first media release of Citizens for Approval Voting went out yesterday. Meanwhile I have been beefing up the operational side of the house including the member database and the various organizational mailing lists. Dr. Robert J. Weber called this week to lend his support to our efforts. Dr. Weber coined the phrase "Approval Voting" in the 1970s after independently discovering many of the remarkable properties of this voting system. One of Dr. Weber's papers is linked on the left. (It is..http://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/2/5/#200302051 Political Foils- (Found July 2, 2008 ) It is common for political groups with similar political aims to become bitter enemies if they support different tactics for achieving those common aims. This is because they perceive themselves as being in competition for the same set of hearts and minds. In my experience, however, it is possible for such groups to open a dialog and discover ways to work together. The liklihood is excellent that they can do so as long as the leaders remember the old saw about "a hoise divided" and work...http://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/10/#200301101 Store and more- (Found July 2, 2008 ) Progress continues. I had a great talk with Sam Merrill, author of Making Multicandidate Elections More Democratic. (See the link on the blogroll on the left.) Sam is willing to support AAV and also approves of the strategy and tactics that we are developing to deal with the IRV alternative. I also had lunch with our resident voting systems expert, Rob LeGrand. Rob is gunning for a post grad position that would allow him to combine his interests in computer science and voting systems. He...http://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/11/#200301111 New York, New York- (Found July 2, 2008 ) I will attending a one day conference in New York on Sunday, January 19th to further the agenda of Independent Texans. This includes introducing the attendees to Approval Voting. With luck I will be able to meet up with Dr. Steven Brams and get other AAV business done. If you know of other people that I should meet while in New York, please let me know. I reserved ApprovalVoting.org to go along with the existing ApprovalVoting.com site. Soon the sites will be one and the same. Commenthttp://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/12/#200301121 Small World- (Found July 2, 2008 ) The buzz about Approval Voting continues to build. More members and more dollars are showing up. Several more ringleaders in the Approval Voting movement have now joined. Also new activists within the Green Party have gotten involved. Meanwhile I have completed the first draft of the Bylaws and the first official Board Meeting for AAV is slated for Monday afternoon. There is a lot to do before then... Fellow Board member Steven Brams was in India last week where he happened to bump into...http://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/14/#200301141 First AAV Handout- (Found July 2, 2008 ) I just polished off the first draft of a handout touting Approval Voting. It is designed for possible use this weekend in New York. It is available to members of the ApprovalVoting Yahoo group. Meanwhile I am happy to report that still more new contacts are responding including Neal McBurnett, creator of the Approval Voting Home Page which is apparently the first web page ever published on that subject. Commenthttp://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/15/#200301151 Get Ready Cause Here I Come- (Found July 2, 2008 ) I got great feedback on my color handout and so it is looking great for the convention. I also made up membership forms and other handouts. My speech has also been through several revisions and I'm ready for that too. Don't expect any action on this blog till next Tuesday or Wednesday as I take on the Big Apple. Commenthttp://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/18/#200301181 New Name: Citizens for Approval Voting- (Found July 2, 2008 ) The organizational board meeting for this group occured on Monday. The only important change to the proposed Bylaws and organization was a new name: Citizens for Approval Voting. This change was suggested by Dr. Brams and is intended to allow non-Americans to feel comfortable using our website and resources for suggesting the use of Approval Voting in their own countries. (This change does not necessarily mean that the organization will become international in scope. The implications of that...http://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/21/#200301211 Taking it to the Capitol- (Found July 2, 2008 ) The Approval Voting work continues unabated. The major task at the moment is splitting off the new Americans for Approval Voting organization. The plan now is to have Citizens for Approval Voting operating as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) educational corporation and also have Americans for Approval Voting operating as a 501(c)(4) political action corporation. Speaking of political action, I spent the morning at the state capitol in Austin lobbying for Approval Voting and other election reforms. The.http://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/27/#200301271 AAV Rides Again!- (Found July 2, 2008 ) I have been working hard to get the new Americans for Approval Voting site up and running. Yes there are two sites now: Citizens for Approval Voting (CAV) and Americans for Approval Voting (AAV). The CAV group is focused on education and outreach while the AAV organization is focused on lobbying and political action. This dual personality is a standard setup for political action groups that have to deal with IRS regulations about tax deductibility of donations. Let me know of the new...http://www.pycs.net/approval/2003/1/31/#200301311 |